Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks 50th Anniversary Celebration

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks 50th Anniversary Celebration

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks 50th Anniversary Celebration

Van Morrison’s 1968 record album, Astral Weeks, is regarded as one of the greatest
musical creations of its time. Its unique blend of jazz and folk has been captivating
fellow musicians (Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello, among others) and fans ever
since its release.

In early 1968, Van Morrison and his wife Janet fled to Cambridge to escape threats by
new management at his inaugural record label. Living in a cramped, rundown apartment
at 602 Green Street in Cambridgeport, Van assembled and began performing with a small
band in the most improbable way. With Janet and his bandmates, Van also refined and
finalized the songs of Astral Weeks. The album was recorded in September and October
1968 and released on November 29, 1968. Author and musician Ryan H. Walsh revealed
this amazing story in his 2015 article in Boston Magazine and expanded on it in his
acclaimed 2018 book, Astral Weeks – A Secret History of 1968.

On December 1, 2018, the Cambridge Arts Council and Cambridge Public Library
sponsored the Astral Weeks 50th Anniversary Celebration. Participants were Ryan H.
Walsh and Van’s bandmates Tom Kielbania (bass), John Payne (flute and sax), and Joe
Bebo (drums).

The two-part Celebration begins on the corner of Green and Bay Streets, Van’s actual
“backstreet” in 1968. During this 33-minute segment, the bandmates reminisce about
their time in the neighborhood with Van rehearsing and going to gigs throughout New
England; author Walsh recounts the circumstances the caused Van and Janet to flee to
Cambridge; and Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern reads his Proclamation of “Van
Morrison Astral Weeks Day”.

The Celebration continues at the Cambridge Public Library. In this 90-minute segment,
Professor Rob Hochschild of Berklee College of Music moderates an entertaining and
humorous program about the improbable events of 1968, including the gigs; Van’s
songwriting and musicianship; the recording of the Astral Weeks album (including the
story of how young John Payne talked his way into the studio recording band alongside
jazz greats Richard Davis and Connie Kay); Kielbania’s touring with Van after the
album’s release; and discussion and playback from the long-sought tape of the August
1968 performance by the acoustic trio of Morrison, Kielbania and Payne at The
Catacombs coffeehouse in Boston. The tape shows that the songs were fully formed by
Van and the bandmates before they ever set foot in the New York recording studio.

The event was filmed by Mike DiNatale and was edited by Marcia Cano and Moussou
N’Diaye.